Container finish capable of accommodating a variety of different closures

ABSTRACT

A novel finish for a container, advantageously a bottle, which is capable of accommodating a crown closure or of accommodating a roll-on closure or of accommodating a threaded resealer cap.

United States Patent Arthur H. Alonso Island Park, N.\. 779,689

Nov. 29, 1968 Feb. 2, 1971 Pepsico, Inc.

New York, N.Y.

a corporation of Delaware Inventor Appl No. Filed Patented Assignee CONTAINER FINISH CAPABLE OF ACCOMMODATING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CLOSURES 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 215/31,

215/39, 215/42, 215/43 Int. Cl .v B65d 1/02 Field of Search 215/31,

39(Cursory), 42(Cursory) Primary ExaminerD0nald F. Norton Attorney-Roylance, Abrams, Kruger, Berdo & Kaul ABSTRACT: A novel finish for a container, advantageously a bottle, which is capable of accommodating a crown closure or of accommodating a roll-on closure or of accommodating a threaded resealer cap.

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, 'Ar oRNEYs CONTAINER FINISH CAPABLE OF ACCOMMODATING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT C LOSURES The present invention relates to a novel finish for containers, advantageously bottles. and more particularly it relates to a finish which is capable of accommodating a variety of different closures for sealing and rescaling the container dispensing opening.

The term finish as used herein is intended to designate the upper most portion of a container neck which is configured in a manner which enables it to receive and retain a closure. The ordinary beverage bottle is provided with a top lip which receives and retains a crown cap, such retaining being accomplished by having the skirt of the crown cap crimped to the under surface of the lip. Another type of beverage bottle which has been more recently introduced to the public and has met with general public acceptance is a bottle having a threaded finish which is capable of receiving and accommodating a roll-on closure which can be used for both sealing and rescaling the bottle.

The ordinary bottler of soft drinks or other beverages does not manufacture his own bottles, but instead, purchases the same from a manufacturer or receives the same from some intermediate source. If the bottle is of the type which ordinarily will receive only a crown cap, then the bottler fills such bottles in his bottling line and caps the same with a conventional crown capper machine. On the other hand, if the bottler receives bottles which are intended to receive a rool-on closure, the bottler fills such bottles along his bottling line and then closes the same by means of a roll-on closure-applying machine.

It thus becomes apparent that it would be advantageous to provide a bottle having a finish which is capable of accommodating both conventional crown cap closures and roll-ontype closures, since, in this a manner, all bottles supplied to a bottler can have the same finish and the bottler can then apply either type of closure he desires. It must additionally be recognized that various forms of threaded resealer caps are used by consumers. Sometimes these resealer caps are supplied by the bottler himself as a promotional item and other times these resealer caps are purchased by the consumer. In either event, it would be desirable and beneficial to provide a bottle finish which is capable of receiving and accommodating such resealer caps.

While there have been certain prior attempts to provide a container finish capable of accommodating more than one type of closure, such prior attempts have not proved to be commercially acceptable or satisfactory. It is believed that where prior attempts were made to combine a threaded finish portion with a crown cap-receiving lip, the threads were damaged when a crown cap was applied by a crown-capping machine. Thus, once the bottle threads were so damaged, it was no longer possible to apply a roll-on closure, and thus each time that particular bottle was returned to the bottler, it could only be closed by a crown cap. If, due to inadvertence or failure to note the defect in the threads, the bottler attempted to close the bottle by means of a roll-on closure, the closure itself would not seal the bottle properly and hence there was the danger that the container contents could spoil or that the cap would be unable to stand the pressure from the container contents. Also, prior attempts to provide threaded finish portions on bottles which had crown cap-receiving lips resulted in the threaded portion being spaced considerably away from the top edge of the bottle. As a result, when a roll-on closure is employed, it is possible that the closure would become distorted upon removal and could no longer be used for reclosing the container. Further, with the greater distance between the top edge and the screw threads, the production costs would be increased because more closure material would be needed, and additionally, the greater distance could create sealing problems.

With the foregoing in mind, it is is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties and deficiencies associated with prior art forms of bottle finishes and to provide instead. a new and improved bottle finish which is capable of accommodating a variety of different closures.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container. preferably a bottle, having a finish which can receive, successfully equal facility, a crown cap, a roll-on closure foregoing a threaded resealer cap.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bottle having an improved finish so that a bottler can close the particular bottle by a conventional crown-capping machine or by a roll-on closure-applying machine.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings, which form a part of this original disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view, generally to scale, of a novel container finish in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, illustrating a crown cap applied to the container finish of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, illustrating a threaded resealer cap applied to the container finish of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a rollon-type closure applied to the container finish of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated therein a fragmentary portion of a container generally designated 10 having a new and improved finish generally designated 12 at the upper end thereof. Advantageously, the container 10 is a glass bottle having an elongated upstanding neck 14 which carries the finish 12. The neck 14 and the finish 12, which form the upper portion of the bottle, have a central opening 16 extending therethrough, which opening is customarily used for filling the bottle with a beverage and for emptying or dispensing the beverage from the interior of the bottle.

The finish 12 includes a continuous inner surface 18 which is generally cylindrical and which serves to circumscribe and define the opening 16. The finish 12 also includes an outer surface 20 and a top surface 22 which extends between, and merges arcuately with, the inner and outer surfaces 18 and 20, respectively. The arcuate curvature 24 where the top surface merges into the outer surface 20 substantially exceeds the arcuate curvature 26 where the top surface merges into the inner surface 18.

The outer surface 20 of the finish 12 includes a groove means 18 extending circumferentially about the finish at a lo cation spaced a finite distance beneath the top surface 22. The groove means 28 includes what can nominally be defined as an upper edge 30 and a lower edge 32, although it can be seen from the drawing that such edges" are not sharp edges in the usual sense, but instead, are somewhat rounded smooth edges. That portion of the finish 12 between the top surface 22 and the top edge 30 of the groove means 28 forms a sealing surface and closure-locking lip which is designated 34.

The finish also includes a portion 36 having raised screw threads 38 therealong. The portion 36 extends downward for a predetermined distance from the bottom edge 32 of the groove means 28. Finally, immediately below the screw thread portion 36, the finish 12 is provided with a raised reinforcing land portion 40 which extends generally linearly downwardly then merges back inwardly to converge into the neck 14 of the container.

Although the relationship of the various portions of the finish 12 can be generally understood from FIG. 1, since such figure is generally to scale, such relationships will nevertheless be set forth hereinafter in somewhat greater detail. The depth of the groove means 28 is designated d and it will be noted that such depth is also the depth of the threads 38. The pitch of the threads 38, which is the crest to crest or valley to valley distance between adjacent screw threads is designated p and such pitch is between two and three times the depth d of the threads and the groove means. The height of the land portion 40 is designated h and this height is substantially equal to the height of the groove means 28, which is the vertical distance between the lower edge 32 and the upper edge 30 thereof. Also, the distance h is equal to about four times the distance d. The vertical length height of the sealing lip 34 is between about three-fourth andfive-sixth the distance H. The outer surface of the reinforcing land 40 tapers somewhat outwardly and downwardly, but can be considered generally parallel to the inner surface 18. The angular inclination of the screw threads 38 is between about 2 and about 3 from the horizontal when the top surface 22 is considered to be horizontal. Finally, the' radial thickness of the sealing lip 34, even at its widest point, is somewhat less than the radial distance elsewhere throughout the length of the finish 12, except for the groove means 28. These siies, proportionsand relationships serve to provide the finish 12 with a unique versatility not heretofore found in bottle finishes, and additionally, they serve to assure that the finish 12 will be capable of satisfactorily accommodating a variety of different types of sealing closures.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated therein a crowncap-type' closure generally designated 50 which is applied to the finish 12 of the container 10. The crown cap 50 includes an imperforate top panel 52 extending across the top surface of the bottle 10, and a depending peripheral skirt 54 integral with the top panel 52. The skirt 54 depends or extends downwardly substantially to the bottom edge 32 of the groove means 28. At spaced locations circumferentially about the skirt 54, portions 56 are crimped inwardly to thus lock the crown cap 50 to the lip 34. The crown cap 50 also includes a standard liner, fabricated of cork or plastic material, which is disposed inside the crown cap and is usually adhesively attached to the underside of the central panel 52. The peripheral edges 60 of the liner 58 extend at least partially along the sealing surface of the lip 34 and thus depend or extend downwardly somewhat beneath the top surface 22 of the finish. In this manner, once the crown cap 50 is applied to the container 10, the central opening 16 of the container is closed, the crown cap is locked or secured onto the upper portion of the container finish 12 and the liner 58 serves to hermetically seal the container and the contents thereof, The crown cap 50 is attached to the container by means of a conventional crown capper machine, and the location, configuration, size and disposition of the screw threads 38 is such that the threads will not be damaged by the crown capper during application of the crown cap 50. As is well known, the crown cap 50 is not removable by hand and cannot be used to reseal the container 10, once the same has been removed by means of a tool.

In order to reseal containers 10 which have initially been closed by a crown cap 50, purchasers will often use a threaded resealer cap such as the cap generally designated 62 in FIG. 3. This cap 62 can serve as a convenient premium or promotional item and can often carry an advertisement along the top or side surface thereof, and the cap itself is formed as a onepiece plastic member having a top panel 64 with an integral depending skirt 66. The interior of the skirt 66 can be provided with screw threads 68 engageable with the screw threads 38 of the container finish l2. Exteriorly, the skirt 66 can be provided with a circumferentially extending ridge or bead 70 which facilitates digital engagement for application and removal of the cap 62. lnteriorly, the cap 62 can be provided with a performed plastic liner 72 having a preformed annular groove 74 therein. This annular groove is shaped to receive and accommodate the inside, outside and top portions of the sealing lip 34, and as a result, when the screw-type closure 62 is applied to the container and is screwed tightly thereonto, the engagement between the liner 72 and the top surface 22 and the lip 34 serve to assure that the container will be heremetically closed and sealed.

Finally, if attention is directed to H6. 4, there is illustrated therein the roll-on-type closure generally designated 80 applied to the container finish 12. The roll-on closure is usually formed of a generally thin and soft metallic material, such as aluminum, and includes a top panel 82 with an integral elongated depending skirt 84. lnitially, the skirt is substantially cylindrical in configuration, but when the roll-on closure is applied, the roll-on closure machine engages portions 86 thereof adjacent the screw threads and rolls these portions intocontact with the screw threads 38 of the finish 12. Also, a reinforcing groove 88 can be formed in the skirt 84 substantially opposite the groove means 28 of the finish. The roll-on closure 80 is provided along the underside of the top panel 82 with a resinous line 90 formed of plastisol or other similar material. Initially, before the roll-on machine engages the closure, the liner 90 is generally flat, but when the roll-on closure machine applies pressure and forms the portions 86 into engagement with the threads 38 of the finish, and also forms the intersecting comer92, which is rounded so that a portion 94 of the liner is deformed downwardly along the exterior sealing surface of the lip 34. In this manner, even though the threaded portion 38 'of the container finish 12 is located a substantial distance downwardly from the top surface 22, it is still possible to apply a roll-on closure and to get a proper hermetic sealing, with such sealing being accomplished by engagement of the liner portion 94 with the lip 34 and also by engagement of the liner 90 with the top surface 22. The placement and configuration of the finish threads 38 makes it possible to remove the roll-on closure 80 without damaging or distorting the threads 86 on the skirt thereof. This means that the roll-on closure 80 cannot only be used to initially seal the container, but can also be used for rescaling the container.

While it is possible to merely terminate the roll-on closure skirt 84 at the end of the screw thread portion of the container finish 12, it is sometimes desirable to provide a "pilfer-proof feature which gives visual assurance to a purchaser that the container seal has not been broken. To accomplish this, the skin 84 is made long enough to extend over the reinforcing land portion 40 of the container finish. When the roll-on closure applying machine forms the screw thread portions 86 in the skirt, it can also roll the bottom edge portion 96 of the skirt along the underside of the reinforcing land 40; At some point spaced along the exterior surface of the land 40, a series of closely spaced circumferentially extending elongated perforations 98 are formed. Between adjacent perforations, the remaining skirt material forms small frangible ribs 100. Thus, when the roll-on closure 80is manually grasped and twisted, the ribs 100 break thus enabling the upper most cap portion of the closure to be removed, while the small annular strip 102 beneath the perforations 98 remains engaged along the neck 14 of the container.

While the container 10 is ordinarily formed of a glass composition, it is equally within the purviewof the present invention to form the same of plastic or of any other suitable rigid material. Also, while it is preferred that the screw threads 38 form a continuous thread, such a thread could be made discontinuous or interrupted, if desired. Finally, it will be understood that the present invention does not reside in the particular closures 50,62 or 80, but instead, resides in the container finish 12 which is capable of receiving and accommodating all of these different closures in a manner which still permits the container to be hermetically sealed and which still permits any type of closure to be applied, manually or by machine, without damaging the finish.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have successfully suffcssfully achieved by the present invention. However, since the foregoing detailed description was merely directed to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, various changes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. In a container having an elongated upper portion with a finish and a central opening therethrough, an improvement in said finish which enables it to accommodate a variety of different types of closures for sealing and rescaling said opening. said improvement comprising:

said finish having inner and outer surfaces, with said inner surface circumscribing and defining said opening;

said finish including a top surface extending between, and

merging arcuately with, said inner and outer surfaces;

said outer surface of said finish incorporating groove means extending circumferentially thereabout at a location beneath said top surface;

that portion of said outer surface between the top edge of said groove means and said top surface forming a sealing surface and closure-locking lip;

said outer surface also including a portion having raised screw threads thereon; said screw thread portion extending downward for a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of said groove means;

said screw threads having a pitch which is between two and three times greater than the depth of said threads;

said predetermined distance having a length substantially equal to the combined length of said groove means and said lip;

said outer surface of said finish also including a raised reinforcing land portion located immediately below said screw thread portion;

said reinforcing land having a substantially flat external surface which is substantially parallel to said inner surface of said finish;

said external surface of said land having a length substantially equal to the length of said groove means;

said external surface being substantially aligned with the outermost portion of said raised screw threads;

said finish being adapted to accommodate a crown cap for sealing said opening, with the skirt of said crown cap being crimpable to said lip;

said finish also being adapted to accommodate a screw cap for rescaling said opening, with the threads of said screw cap being engageable with said screw thread portion and the bottom portion of said screw cap contacting and extending at least partially along said external surface of said reinforcing land; and

said finish also being adapted to accommodate a pilferproof roll-on closure for sealing and rescaling said opening, with said roll-on closure having threads rollable into engagement with said screw thread portion and having a frangible sealing band engagcable with said external surface of said reinforcing land.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the length of said lip is between about three-fourths and about five-sixths the length of said groove means.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the depth of said groove means is substantially equal to the depth of said screw threads.

4. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the angular inclination of said screw threads is between about 2 and about 3 5. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said top surface includes a flat wall substantially perpendicular to the planes of said inner and outer surfaces.

6. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein the arcuate curvature where said flat wall merges into said outer surface substantially exceeds the arcuate curvature where said top surface merges into said inner surface.

7. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein the radial distance between said inner and outer surfaces at said lip is less than the radial distance between said inner and outer surfaces at all other points along said finish except for said groove means. 

1. In a container having an elongated upper portion with a finish and a central opening therethrough, an improvement in said finish which enables it to accommodate a variety of different types of closures for sealing and resealing said opening, said improvement comprising: said finish having inner and outer surfaces, with said inner surface circumscribing and defining said opening; said finish including a top surface extending between, and merging arcuately with, said inner and outer surfaces; said outer surface of said finish incorporating groove means extending circumferentially thereabout at a location beneath said top surface; that portion of said outer surface between the top edge of said groove means and said top surface forming a sealing surface and closure-locking lip; said outer surface also including a portion having raised screw threads thereon; said screw thread portion extending downward for a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of said groove means; said screw threads having a pitch which is between two and three times greater than the depth of said threads; said predetermined distance having a length substantially equal to the combined length of said groove means and said lip; said outer surface of said finish also including a raised reinforcing land portion located immediately below said screw thread portion; said reinforcing land having a substantially flat external surface which is substantially parallel to said inner surface of said finish; said external surface of said land having a length substantially equal to the length of said groove means; said external surface being substantially aligned with the outermost portion of said raised screw threads; said finish being adapted to accommodate a crown cap for sealing said opening, with the skirt of said crown cap being crimpable to said lip; said finish also being adapted to accommodate a screw cap for resealing said opening, with the threads of said screw cap being engageable with said screw thread portion and the bottom portion of said screw cap contacting and extending at least partially along said external surface of said reinforcing land; and said finish also being adapted to accommodate a pilfer-proof roll-on closure for sealing and resealing said opening, with said roll-on closure having threads rollable into engagement with said screw thread portion and having a frangible sealing band engageable with said external surface of said reinforcing land.
 2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the length of said lip is between about three-fourths and about five-sixths the length of said groove means.
 3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the depth of said groove means is substantially equal to the depth of said screw threads.
 4. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the angular inclination of said screw threads is between about 2* and about 3* .
 5. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said top surface includes a flat wall substantially perpendicular to the planes of said inner and outer surfaces.
 6. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein the arcuate curvature where said flat wall merges into said outer surface substantially exceeds the arcuate curvature where said top surface merges into said inner surface.
 7. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein the radial distance between said inner and outer surfaces at said lip is less than the radial distance between said inner and outer surfaces at all other points along said finish except for said groove means. 